


Battle (The Second Book of Galatsadi)

by LittleMouse



Series: Galatsadi [2]
Category: The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-01-20 10:59:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12431364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMouse/pseuds/LittleMouse
Summary: Wulia arrives on the planet, but doesn’t get the reception she expected.  Vaako learns what the Reverent Names mean, and discovers his place on Galatsadi.  Riddick is separated from his pretty warrior and is Not Happy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another unfinished fic, and not too many chapters written. Sorry. Maybe.
> 
> Do be aware that Riddick is super possessive in this fic, and that he and Vaako like to pretend some of their interactions are non-consensual. If that's a trigger or something you dislike, please don't read.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Vaako blinked awake to see Riddick poised over top of him, his whole demeanor protective, silver eyes glaring out at the darkness.

“Thought I heard a ship’s engine.”

“Here?” Vaako sat up, and Riddick moved back - very slightly - to give him room. “A ship couldn’t land here yet - not for another week or two.” This was true enough - the hurricanes and thunderstorms had given away to ‘milder’ weather; strong winds and steady downpours, but nothing that was doing any real damage.

“I know,” Riddick’s gaze shifted to the roiling sky, “but maybe there’s one circling, waiting to land.”

Vaako didn’t argue with him - he knew Riddick’s hearing was sharp enough to pick up a ship’s engine if it was just above the concealing clouds. “Maybe a trader is very eager to land...?” he thought aloud.

“And trade for what? Most of the dried fish is gone; no one can get fresh while those waves are twenty feet high.”

Vaako shrugged. “Sometimes they land early and try to get more of the pearls and jewelry, since we have nothing else to trade and are a bit desperate for different food.”

“Like a chocolate bar?” Riddick teased him, even though his protective posture didn’t relax in the slightest.

“Yes, like a chocolate bar,” Vaako rolled his eyes. “Everyone on Galatsadi loves chocolate. I think it’s genetic.”

“Hmm... maybe I should try coating myself in melted chocolate sometime,” Riddick mused, acting like he was speaking to himself. “See what kinda reaction I get.”

Vaako knew very well that the man was teasing him - but his eyes glazed over at the thought, anyway. Riddick’s gorgeous bronzed skin, covered in a thin layer of rich, sweet chocolate...

Riddick looked down at the muffled moan and laughed. “Damn, I definitely got to try that!” If just the thought of it made Vaako get that look on his face, made his pretty warrior absently press his groin against him - well, then he couldn’t wait to see what the real thing did.

But that was for later - when the circling ship actually landed. Provided, of course, that it was a trader bearing chocolate, and not someone here to cause trouble. Vaako might doubt the latter, but Riddick was a lot more paranoid. He knew that being happy here with his mate couldn’t last - nothing good ever lasted in his life. Sooner or later, something was going to happen to rip him out of this little paradise.

But he’d go fighting and clawing, and wherever he went, he was damn well taking his warrior with him!

“I hope they do have chocolate,” Vaako murmured, stirring a little beneath him. He’d apparently decided that it was a trader circling above them - and really, what else could it be? “I’d like another candy bar. I’m tired of fish.”

“Could go hunting more of those berries, if you’re wantin’ something sweet,” Riddick said, letting the subject of the ship go for now - though not pushing it out of his thoughts. Something felt wrong about the purr of that motor above them, and even if he allowed Vaako to change the subject, he was going to start mentally planning for the worst.

That was how he’d lived for all the years he had - expect the worst to happen, and then you’re ready for anything else.

“I need to go hunting for something, whether it’s berries or not,” Vaako was continuing the conversation, “we don’t have anything but dried fish to eat. At least the hurricanes have slacked off - I can go out without you having a heart attack.”

“Very funny,” Riddick grumbled, “I don’t care if you go out. I’m going to fix that weak spot on the roof before it turns into a hole. Just don’t go further than I can see.”

Vaako rolled his eyes. “Yes, Master.”

“Oh, now that wasn’t the smartest thing to say if you’re planning on getting out of bed this morning,” Riddick growled, dropping down to rub against his pretty warrior. “Makes me want to tie you down and have some fun.”

“Sorry,” Vaako said, as cheerfully as the man ever got, “there’s too much to do today.” And he actually managed to wriggle free and into some clothes, leaving Riddick staring after him.

“Too much to do?!” he nearly bellowed, “there’s hardly anything to do!”

“Yes, there is,” even Vaako’s teasing was solemn, “there’s gathering dinner, and cooking it, and washing clothes - even if you do prefer to wander about nude - and there’s fixing the roof, repairing the fishnets, bathing, and adding in the several times a day that you feel the need to tackle me while I’m working on those, we ought to be done around midnight.”

“Oh, you’re evil,” Riddick said, grinning broadly.

“I try,” Vaako nodded, and dodged the hand that grabbed for him, nearly running out the door.  “I’ll be looking for greens, if your hormones should overtake you!”

“They’re already overtaking me,” Riddick grumbled, his silver eyes flashing with delight. His mate was running; that meant he’d be able to hunt him. He wondered if Vaako had planned it that way - he’d been a little stir-crazy during the hurricane season, when they couldn’t set a foot outside without being blown into the woods - and had decided to give him this chase.

Well, even if he hadn’t, Riddick was going to enjoy himself! There was nothing quite like hunting for his pretty prey through the dripping, rain-soaked little forest in the center of Galatsadi’s only island - and catching him was particularly fun.

Hmm... thoughts of Vaako, with water beading on his skin and dripping from his hair, made Riddick nearly leap off the small porch. He followed the rapidly vanishing footsteps in the deep sand, around the back of the house and onto the firmer ground of the forest. Silver eyes easily pierced the gloom of the towering trees, but Vaako was nowhere in sight.

Riddick’s grin grew wider. Let the game begin.

 

 

*

 

 

“This is utterly ridiculous!”

The Captain winced, not turning around. Amazing how a few short weeks - was it only weeks? it seemed like years - could turn a beautiful, desirable woman into a raving harpy.

He snickered silently at the thoughts of his crew - when Lady Wulia had first come aboard, they’d fallen all over themselves trying to gain her attention; doing any tasks she required - and a few she did not - anticipating her every whim and catering to her every desire.

Now they couldn’t get away fast enough.

Just yesterday, one of his men had seriously injured himself by trying to hide inside a storage locker when he heard her coming - the human body was only meant to bend certain ways, and that locker was barely large enough for a child to hide in. He’d managed it, but it had cost him.

He’d happily admitted that it was worth it.

The Captain didn’t blame him one bit - he’d been awed when Wulia had first approached him, had stammered over the honor of escorting her aboard his ship. Her mission, to find and accompany the Lord Marshall - with a brief stop to get him some ‘gift’ - had only served to further his sense of being honored.

But then he’d been trapped on this small ship with the woman and his thirty-odd crew members... for, what was it now? six weeks? seven? He couldn’t quite remember and he didn’t want to pull the logs up to find out. It would only be depressing. After all, he’d found out in the first week exactly what sort of manipulative, nagging shrew Lord Vaako’s former wife was.

No wonder the man had left her and vanished!

The Captain only wished he could vanish!

“Excuse me,” an icy voice broke in on his mental wanderings, snapping him back to the unpleasant present, “but I have been asking you the same question over and over; do you think it may be possible for you to pull your remaining brain cells together and answer me?”

“I shall make every attempt, my Lady,” the Captain replied, without the slightest bit of sarcasm.  “What was it that you asked?”

“I asked if we would be landing any time soon? Some day this century, perhaps?”

“My Lady, the weather on the planet is still intense,” he tried to sound reasonable, like he hadn’t told her this daily for the last two weeks. “They are experiencing heavy thunderstorms, though the hurricanes seem to have abated - it would be beyond dangerous for us to try and land.”

“You said the same about the hurricanes,” Wulia replied icily. “Surely mere thunderstorms aren’t enough to slow a ship from the mighty Necromongers? Are you sure you are not purposefully delaying?” Her eyes took on a sudden, pleased gleam. “Do you really wish to spend so much time alone with me, my Captain?”

He tried his best to hide a shudder. He might have dreamed of being along with this lovely woman once, but now it was becoming his most terrifying nightmare. “My Lady... er, I know that you are eager to land, and I would not dream of denying you - it truly is the weather that concerns me; even the Necromongers cannot control the whims of nature.”

“Of course,” she said, her eyes still gleaming, “whatever you say. Now, my Captain - it has been a long time since I rewarded you, hasn’t it?” She moved a little closer, her shimmering gown catching facets of light with each sinuous motion.

He gaped at her for a second, then jolted from his seat and took several steps away. “Er, my Lady, I have to see to the ship’s logs and then speak to the tech who is working on predicting the weather patterns...”

Lady Wulia was left blinking after the Captain as he nearly ran down the corridor.

“How very odd,” she said, puzzled.

 

  
*

 

  
Vaako heard a sound behind him, but he didn’t look up.

It was either Riddick or one of the natives - if it was a native, they meant him no harm, and if it was Riddick, then looking up would spoil the man’s game. So although his warrior-instincts were screaming at him, he stayed focused on the small patch of wild onions he’d found. They’d be a welcome addition to their diet.

The noise sounded again, slightly to his left. A moment before, the sound had come from his far right. Even though he knew better, he couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking to the left -

\- just in time for Riddick to jump him from the right.

“Caught ya,” the other man hummed happily, squashing him - and the onions - to the ground.

“So I see,” was Vaako’s dry reply. “You also caught the addition to our dinner, as I’m sure you can smell.”

Riddick just shrugged, a feral gleam lighting up his silver eyes - Vaako could see that even through the goggles.

Or maybe he could just sense it. Gods only knew that he ought to know when that look was in Riddick’s eye by now!

He heaved a sigh, pretending to only tolerate the other man’s actions, including the fact that the broad, warm hands were sliding inside his clothes. “I suppose getting back to the house to put these in stew is out of the question?”

“For now? Yeah, for now it’s definitely out of the question,” Riddick purred, and then Vaako couldn’t say anything more.

His mouth was too busy being invaded by Riddick’s tongue, the familiar rich taste of the man who called him ‘mate’ overwhelming his senses.

“You taste good,” Riddick echoed his thoughts but in reverse, his voice sounding like honey poured over gravel.

Vaako would have answered that he did, as well, but Riddick only lifted his mouth long enough for those words, then he returned to his oral attack.

Oh, well, he didn’t need to say it, anyway. Riddick’s ego didn’t need stroking, and besides, the man seemed to get a lot of fun out of the illusion - and both of them knew it was an illusion - that Vaako wasn’t a perfectly willing participant in all this.

He sighed happily, and let Riddick’s strong hands wrap around his wrists, holding his arms down while the heavy body held the rest of him down. A muscular thigh nudged his legs apart and he spread them easily, welcoming his Dalenaga as the other pressed against him.

Neither realized they were being watched.

Neither would have cared much if he had known.

 

 

*

 

  
She watched her beautiful Children as they moved together, admiring them from their outward loveliness to the way their muscles and sinews worked together to shift their bones. Admired the way their hearts pushed the blood through their veins and the way their auras mixed together into a single lovely glow.

She needed her Speaker and her Warrior - but she would let them finish playing first.

They were going to need all the sweet memories they could make.

 

 

 

  
Language notes:

  
‘Dalenaga’ means silver, and is a nickname given to Riddick by the natives: see ‘Galatsadi’  
chapter 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Vaako’s mouth was soft under his, and his lips opened easily to a demanding tongue. His lean brown wrists - still unmarked but that wasn’t going to last - fit perfectly into one hand, leaving another free to roam the long, lithe body, pulling at clothes to get to the rain-slick skin. Vaako’s head went back, neck arching, at the first touch to pebbled nipples and he moaned deep in his throat.

Riddick was a very happy man.

It satisfied something deep and hidden inside him, satisfied his inner beast, to have this beautiful man trapped under him, moaning for him, writhing in exquisite ecstasy for him. He bent his head and ran his tongue down Vaako’s throat, tasting the salty-sweetness of his skin and purring deep in his own throat. He found a spot that pleased him, and settled down to bite and suck at it, adding a deep purple-red mark to dozens of other marks already scattered over the man’s throat, chest and shoulders, some bright and some half-faded.

It pacified the beast in him, to mark this man for everyone to see, and so he did it as often as he could.

He got Vaako’s loose pants off as quickly, not really concerned about tearing them, and ran his free hand up a lean, smooth thigh to wrap around his mate’s burgeoning erection. He growled happily as the hot shaft hardened in his hand - he was in no mood for long, slow love-making.  The thought of that ship still had him worried, unsettled, and he wanted to reassure himself that Vaako was still here, still his.

So he was going to take him.

And it was going to be hard and fast.

Vaako apparently realized that - he sighed softly and shifted his hips, spreading his thighs further apart until Riddick was firmly settled against him. “I hope - that you - brought...” he gasped.

“Never go anywhere without it,” Riddick interrupted, grinning evilly as he dropped a small jar of clear liquid onto Vaako’s stomach.

“I should have known,” Vaako rolled his eyes.

Riddick’s grin was positively wolfish. He opened the jar and coated his fingers thoroughly, then set it on the ground and pressed himself tight against his mate, devouring his mouth even as his hand slid between Vaako’s legs, searching out his target and immediately pressing the first finger inside. He didn’t have to do as much stretching as he’d had to at first - how could he, when he sometimes took Vaako three or four times in a single day? - but he still made sure there was plenty of lubrication and enough playing to make sure his pretty warrior was ready for him. Just because Vaako’s body welcomed him more easily was no excuse to risk hurting him.

 

 

*

 

 

Vaako rolled his eyes at Riddick’s uncharacteristic caution, but didn’t comment. He had been shocked at first, at just how careful the ex-con was with him - nothing about Riddick’s appearance or speech seemed to indicate any thread of gentleness in the man.

Not at first.

The longer he watched, the longer he had the man living here with him, the more of the true Riddick he saw. A big, hard-hearted, tough and ruthless killer - with a teeny-tiny spot of marshmallow inside that seemed to be just for Vaako.

Well, just for Vaako and the native children that he played games with when he thought Vaako wasn’t looking!

“You can go faster,” he whispered, lifting his leg to rub his inner thigh encouragingly against Riddick’s hip, “I am ready for you.”

Riddick’s silver eyes flashed at the motion and the words. “You’d better _always_ be ready for me,” he growled.

Vaako frowned.

There was something off about his lover’s tone - Riddick was always possessive, and he growled ‘mine’ a lot during sex. He teased Vaako about catching him, owning him, keeping him - but there was something angry and - and almost _frightened_ in that last growl that set off Vaako’s internal alarms.

Riddick didn’t do ‘frightened.’

Something was wrong.

Riddick grasped his hips, lifted him and then pushed inside in one long, smooth motion. Vaako’s brain shorted out for a moment, as his vision darkened and his head fell back in bliss.

“Mine,” the expected word came, and Vaako’s brain analyzed it and filed it away as almost back to normal, even as his body writhed and cried out beneath the strong, hard thrusts. One big hand left his hip and grabbed his own, forcing his fingers to wrap around his erection. He blinked his eyes back in focus and saw Riddick grinning ferally down at him.

“Wanna watch you make yourself come,” he growled, eyes shining.

Vaako moaned, deep in the back of his throat, and obeyed, letting his fingers slide up and down his cock in a leisurely counterpoint to Riddick’s rapid movement. The glowing eyes followed every motion like Riddick was mesmerized, even though the other man’s free hand had started wandering over his captive lover’s body, stroking firm muscles, tweaking his nipples playfully, tracing the black lines of tattoos.

Vaako sighed at the return of Riddick’s usual playful touches, and his hand moved a little faster.

“More.”

Apparently not fast enough for Riddick. Vaako arched an eyebrow at the command but obeyed, letting his fingers increase their movement until their speed matched Riddick’s thrusts.

That got him a grumbling growl of approval; then Riddick shifted his hips and suddenly he was slamming into Vaako’s sweet spot relentlessly.

“Oh!” Vaako couldn’t stop the cry of surprise - Riddick usually held off aiming for that spot - more than the occasional brush, anyway - until he was ready to come, himself. And since the annoying man had incredible stamina, Vaako was used to being on his back or his knees or some other odd position for _much_ longer than this before he felt those deliberate, amazing thrusts.

“Make yourself come,” Riddick leaned close enough for Vaako to hear the whisper. “Want to see you come.”

‘ _Why are you whispering_?’ Vaako wanted to ask, but the pleasure was so strong that he could feel it like liquid in his throat, blocking off any capability of speech. It didn’t matter much at the moment, anyway - his hand was automatically obeying the order again, gripping himself more firmly, swiping his thumb over his glans until the added sensation had him spurting.

“Gorgeous,” Riddick’s voice whispered again - Vaako couldn’t see him, since his eyes had rolled back in his head - but he’d seen the leer on the man’s face enough to know what he looked like right now.

Riddick shifted again, and Vaako felt strong arms sliding under his back, angling him up and pulling him closer, so that Riddick’s thrusts went even deeper. Familiar warmth filled him, and the Lord Marshall of the Necromonger Army was hissing in satisfaction and then collapsing on top of him.

“Mmm...” Riddick sighed happily, “got to do that again soon.”

“You are absolutely insatiable,” Vaako moaned, wriggling to get out from under the bigger man’s dead weight.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Riddick demanded, wrapping his arms around his mate more tightly.

“I still need to finish gathering the rest of our dinner,” Vaako said, staring up at him. “What’s wrong, Dalenaga? What’s bothering you?”

“You keep calling me that,” Riddick said teasingly, “that’s what’s bothering me.”

“I thought you preferred it to Dally,” Vaako gave him his best innocent look.

“Watch it there, Aggie,” Riddick gave him a mock-snarl.

Vaako just smiled. “Get off, and let me finish picking onions.”

“I dunno, I’m pretty comfortable,” Riddick replied, shifting on top of him like he was arranging his pillow. “You’re all warm.”

“I’m also sticky and my back is covered with grass and mud,” Vaako glared. “And I’m hungry.”

“Hmm, well, dinner and a bath, then,” Riddick’s leer was back, full force. “I’ll feed you, then fuck you. In a nice hot spring, yeah?”

Vaako rolled his eyes. “If you must. But for now, get off me.”

“Get off me, get me off - those are really close, you know?” Riddick’s fingertips teased at Vaako’s nipples.

“There is no way you’ve already recovered,” Vaako protested, though he knew very well that it was entirely possible.

“Could be,” Riddick laughed, “but I’m hungry, too, and taking you in the hot springs sounds like a lot of fun. Go get those onions, Aggie.” He rolled off his captive.

“Stop calling me that,” Vaako grumbled, getting up and stretching before he started looking for his pants.

“You started it.” Riddick was already dressed - but since he was only wearing a pair of cut-off cloth shorts, that wasn’t saying a lot.

Vaako fought off a grin. Riddick sounded like a kid on a playground, arguing with his friends.

 

 

*

 

  
Riddick grinned at Vaako’s expression, knowing his pretty warrior was trying not to smile.  Teasing Vaako was so much fun - almost as much fun as tackling him to ground and fucking him again would be.

A rumble from his stomach was the only thing that stopped him. “Gonna head back and get the soup started,” he told his mate, who was patiently gathering the half-crushed onions he’d scattered when he’d jumped the man earlier.

“All right.”

Riddick gave one hard look around - he knew Galatsadi didn’t have predators, and that the natives were harmless, but watchfulness was a permanently ingrained habit with him. When he was certain that his warrior would be safe on his own, he loped back to the shack, long legs making the distance seem short.

For some reason, more than just the usual desire to keep the man in his pocket, he didn’t like leaving Vaako alone. If he’d stayed, he _would_ have jumped him again, so he’d made himself leave. But he knew that knowing he, himself, was back and getting the food started would bring Vaako back almost immediately. No side trips after likely ingredients for tomorrow’s eating, no stopping to talk to any native who might happen along - Vaako was desperate to learn even more  
of the language than he already had.

Riddick shook his head silently, lifting down the single metal pot they owned and setting it up over the little fire. The eladi was useless now, since the rainy season was almost over and the water was so high - any higher, and he wouldn’t have let his mate out of the house - it was just enough to thoroughly soak the sand beneath their shack, making it more like quicksand than solid earth.

They and the other natives, whose huts were just barely visible, had rigged these little fire-pans up on the tiny front porches. They couldn’t build a big fire, and they couldn’t leave it burning long, but when you were desperate for food besides dry fish, it was amazing would you could come up with.

Riddick filled the pot with water, the damn fish, and some vegetables that resembled potatoes and carrots that one of those native women had given Vaako yesterday. Now - where had Vaako put the ladle this time? Pretty warrior had a habit of setting the damn thing in the last place anyone would think to look for it.

A quick survey of the porch showed it nowhere, but then Vaako wouldn’t have wanted to risk its blowing away if the weather acted up again. He stuck his head inside the door and took a quick survey of the dark innards of the house.

No, still didn’t see it.

Sighing, he stepped inside and started looking more thoroughly, though his eyes should have picked up the dull gleam of the tin ladle easily.

Still not finding it, he reached instead for the little shelf where they kept the precious salt and a few bits of herbs Vaako had managed to dry when the sun was still shining. As he reached for the second box - why was this shelf so damn high? - he felt his fingers just brush the edge of the ladle.

“Shit,” he said, and stretched, reaching further. His fingers finally closed around his target.

And brushed against something else.

Another little box, not made of thick paper like the salt and herb boxes. He grabbed it and pulled it forward with the ladle.

Then he stared.

It was the little box Vaako had torn his chambers apart over, on the Necromonger ship. It seemed like ages since he’d watched that video in its endless loop, and he’d forgotten all about the box, but he recognized it instantly.

A little battered wooden box, looking old and fragile, like it would break apart if he held it too tightly. It rattled faintly when he gave it a cautious shake.

Riddick frowned. What was in here?

 

 

*

 

  
“Where are you?” was the first thing out of Vaako’s mouth when he reached the porch and found the soup bubbling merrily away and Riddick nowhere in sight.

“Looking for the ladle. Again.” His Dalenaga stepped outside and gave him a glare. “You gotta stop hiding that thing.”

“I put it in a perfectly reasonable location,” Vaako took it out of his hand and dropped the onions - already washed on his way back, which was why he’d taken a bit longer - into the pot. Riddick liked them whole, not chopped, and they were tiny enough to cook quickly.

“Vaako, what’s this?”

Riddick’s voice saying his name brought his head up sharply - the man rarely used his name. It was always ‘pretty warrior’ or ‘mate’ or ‘Aggie’ or even the full ‘Agaliha’.

“What’s what?”

“This,” and Riddick placed a box in his hand.

His little box that he’d hidden back on the highest shelf and nearly forgotten about.

“Did you open it?” he asked now, turning it over in his hands.

“No - I started to, but it’s yours.”

That surprised Vaako a little. Riddick was curious about everything, and personal possessions and boundaries didn’t mean a lot to him. He gave the man a questioning look.

To his shock, Riddick actually looked like he was blushing. “Well, you took it from the ship, and you didn’t keep anything else you took.”

“How did you know that I took it?” Vaako was staring.

“I watched you hunting for it on the vids. Then whispering over it. How’d you think I knew where to find you? Wasn’t a lucky guess, Aggie.”

Oh, well, at least they were back to the pet names. Vaako pushed the idea of Riddick watching his actions and the research he must have done to discover what ‘Galatsadi’ meant to the back of his mind, something to think over when he could concentrate fully.

“It’s my childhood,” he said softly, now, opening the box and handing it back to his lover. “It’s all I had of my homeworld.”

Riddick stared down at the contents. “And you remembered it when Zylow died?”

Vaako nodded. “I would guess I was not the only one who was affected by his death - the passing of a Lord Marshall always seems to awaken lost memories in Necromongers. With me - well, Galatsadi’s call to her children is always strong. It was like someone had ripped shields from my mind. I couldn’t not come back.”

Riddick very carefully picked up the scrap of old, cracked leather and tiny, near-crumbling shells.  “This is one of those bracelets.”

“Yes. Children wear them, too, you know, until they get one from an Elder when they reach adulthood. I’m starting to remember that the way the shells are placed, and how many of them there are, has a meaning.”

“So what does this mean?” Riddick indicated the fragile bit of jewelry. It was so very small - he could hardly imagine how tiny Vaako’s wrist must have been for it to fit around it. Just how old had his pretty warrior been when he’d been stolen from his family?

“I think it shows which group you belong to, or maybe it somehow shows who your parents are,” Vaako turned back to the soup, taking the salt and herbs from Riddick’s free hand and adding them to the mix.

“These new bracelets must mean something, then,” Riddick said, easing the treasure back into its box and stepping inside to replace it on the shelf. “Don’t you think? Or maybe not - it wasn’t an Elder who gave them to us.”

“I’m not sure,” Vaako frowned down into the pot, “I’ve been thinking - the children here like you. Practically every one of them has been by to at least look at you from behind their parents’ legs.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Riddick growled, and Vaako had to hide a smile again.

He knew Riddick liked the kids as much as they liked him, but he’d never admit it.

“Well - have you ever seen her with anyone else?”

“Who?”

“The little girl who gave us the bracelets.”

“No,” Riddick, when Vaako looked at him, looked deeply thoughtful.

“I haven’t either. Families on Galatsadi are very close, and children are guarded religiously. I know they seem to trust us, and they know we couldn’t kidnap them and take them away - but I still find it very strange that our little girl is allowed to wander about on her own.”

 

 

  
Language notes:

‘eladi’ was used in the first Galatsadi story - it means ‘below’ and refers to the cooking/drying area beneath the shacks.

Agaliha - means ‘sunshine’, and is Vaako’s pet name, given to him in his childhood and used liberally by Riddick. See ‘Galatsadi’ chapter 10.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“How much longer?” Lady Wulia asked, tapping her little foot impatiently as she peered over the Captain’s shoulder.

“Within the next twenty-four hours,” he was quite relieved to tell her. “As long as the weather patterns remain consistent, of course. Barring any unforseen acts of nature, the storms should clear long enough for us to land tomorrow afternoon.”

“ _Finally_ ,” she hissed, rolling the word pleasurably over her tongue. Finally, she was going to get down to that planet and retrieve her wayward husband. Vaako might be a first-class warrior, but he had been alone and without her guidance for months now. There was no way he could come out victorious against the dozens of men she had brought with her.

Once she had him beaten and under control, she would have a few pleasurable days with him while the Captain tracked down the Lord Marshal on whatever silly pilgrimage the man had undertaken.

She smiled to herself, imagining the appreciative way that Lord Riddick would accept her gift, the man who had brought that plain little chit of a girl onto the MotherShip, who was as responsible as anyone for her conversion and subsequent death. She shivered slightly at the thought of the pleasure they could take together as they tormented and used Vaako, until they were bored and ready for the useless man to die.

Riddick would be so grateful that he would give her what she deserved - her place at his side as Consort, Lady Queen of the Necromongers.

She preened at the thought, almost bouncing on her toes with excitement. Only the fact that the men were watching her kept her joy under control - it certainly wouldn’t do for these peons to see their future Queen acting like a breeder teenager.

“I wish to be informed the _instant_ that we are able to land,” she ordered the Captain, “but you are not to set down on the planet until I tell you to.”

“As you wish, Lady Wulia,” he nodded.

She frowned briefly - as much as she disliked Vaako now, she did regret the loss of the title ‘Dame’ - it was so much more impressive than the mere ‘Lady’.

Ah, well, soon enough they’d call her ‘Your Grace’. She smiled softly, patted the Captain on the shoulder - never noticing his cringe - and swayed in her usual seductive manner as she walked to her disgustingly small cabin.

She needed to bathe, to begin the long process of dressing and arranging her hair, of using the bath oils, perfumes and paints that would made her stunning, the most beautiful female in the Necromonger race. She would flatten the miserable natives of this planet with her beauty; even though they were no match for her Warriors, she preferred them sprawled in abject worship of her than doing that tiresome fighting.

They would give Vaako up without the least struggle, she was sure. They would be pleased enough at being granted a brief smile for their trouble.

She eased herself into the cramped little tub, already filled with warm water and thick, cloying oils by the menial she’d brought with her, and leaned back, relaxing to the thought of sliding her fingers over Vaako’s pale, blood-slick skin...

 

 

  
*

 

 

“So how do you want to start looking for her?” Riddick asked.

Vaako looked up from the bowl of stew he was picking at. “I don’t know. I’m remembering more of the language every time I speak to one of the others, but I’m not sure how to go about asking about their children without worrying them. I don’t want to do that.”

“I guess not,” Riddick grumbled, remembering how cautious the natives had been when they’d first seen him - he’d not been allowed around any of the kids for weeks. “You’re makin’ me soft, though, pretty warrior,” he teased, “It was a lot easier when I could just grab someone by the throat and make ‘em tell me what I wanna know.”

Vaako scowled half-heartedly at him. “A little civilization never hurt anyone,” he sniffed.

“Civilization?” Riddick laughed. “We’re in a primitive hut on an island full of natives who have never even seen an electric light, and you want me to be _civilized?”_

Vaako gave him a small smile. “Yes?”

“I refuse to admit that I’m whipped,” Riddick’s grin fought against the words, “I’ll behave, but you have to make it up to me.”

“Make it up to you?” Vaako set the bowl on the porch railing, knowing what Riddick was hinting at. Wouldn’t do to spill dinner all over the floor when he got pounced.

“Yeah,” Riddick purred the word low in this throat, setting his own food aside and getting to his feet. Instead of pouncing, he prowled toward his mate, his long, lean body a study in suppressed power.

“How, exactly?” Vaako played along by getting up and backing away, toward the freedom represented by the flimsy steps and the jungle beyond.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Riddick’s long arm grabbed his shoulder just before he darted down the steps, “but it doesn’t involve another chase through that damn forest.”

“What _does_ it involve?” Vaako asked, already feeling a little breathless as he was tugged across the porch and into the dim interior of the shack.

“You on your knees,” Riddick whispered in his ear, pushing him gently down onto the floor beside their only chair.

“And then?” Vaako forced a scowl onto his face, instead of the wide-eyed anticipation he wanted to show.

“I’ll let you take it from there,” Riddick grinned smugly, sitting down in front of him, and spreading his legs wide. He leaned back and let the movement bring his pelvis close to Vaako’s face.

Vaako fought to keep the scowl, tickled at Riddick’s play-acting. He didn’t know if they’d always keep it up, but they both got a lot of enjoyment out of him playing the reluctant captive in all this. He _knew_ that Riddick knew he liked it; the long nights with Riddick wrapped around him, Vaako stroking his shaved head and exchanging slow, lazy kisses would have told the man that, but so far they both kept fairly strictly to the captor versus captive script.

“Waiting,” Riddick prompted him, his grin turning evil.

Vaako sighed, and placed mock-reluctant hands on his Dalenaga’s knees. He slid them slowly up the rough material covering Riddick’s thighs, hiding a smile when he felt them tremble beneath his hands. He fingered the waistband of the shorts Riddick was wearing, not trying to unfasten them.

“Get on with it,” Riddick growled, one big hand covering his and moving it toward the buttons.

Vaako obeyed slowly, flicking each button open and letting the back of his fingers brush lightly against Riddick’s skin as he did. The other man never wore any kind of undergarments, so his cock was already pushing up to meet his fingers, jutting from the pants before he’d gotten four buttons open.

Riddick growled again, wordlessly this time, and suddenly there were fingers tangling in Vaako’s hair, pushing his face down firmly against the cock that had appeared to welcome him.

Vaako gave an exaggerated sigh, making perfectly sure that the gust of warm air hit the eager shaft. Riddick groaned above him, and Vaako took the cue to mouth gingerly at the head of his cock. That wasn’t entirely an act - he’d been a rank beginner at this and it had taken Riddick a lot of time and coaxing for him to even try it in the first place. Only the knowledge of how good it felt when Dalenaga did it to him, and the desire to return some of the pleasure he’d been receiving, had given Vaako the nerve to try it in the first place.

He was still careful and uncertain, and he couldn’t swallow as much as his partner could, but Riddick actually seemed to like that.

Probably because it added to his little fantasy that he was coercing Vaako into this.

The fingers in Vaako’s hair were firm, not hurting, but not letting him go. They pressed him forward - not too far, he noted - making him take more of that shaft into his mouth. He closed his lips over it willingly, and gave it a good firm suck, pressing his tongue tight against the underside.

Riddick choked.

Vaako pushed down the feeling of utter smugness that surged through him, and slid his mouth further down, just short of the point that had made him gag last time. He bobbed his head as much as the iron fingers would allow, and then licked his way back up. One good, firm swipe of his tongue across the crown and then Riddick was pushing him back down again, moaning steadily now.

The dark-haired man allowed a little bit of a smile to curve his lips - not too much, or it would ruin the nice bit of suction he’d started - and felt his own arousal twitch in his pants. He really enjoyed the helpless sounds he could get out of Riddick - enjoyed the knowledge that no matter what Riddick was pretending right now, Vaako was actually the one in control.

He carefully slid a little lower, the furthest he’d been yet without gagging - and hummed.

The world suddenly spun around wildly.

Instinct made him brace himself to keep his nose from smashing into the floor, then Vaako was blinking at the wood grain on the floor planks while Riddick was flinging the pants Vaako had been wearing across the room.

What the hell just happened?

“You little tease,” Riddick growled behind him, and there were fingers already pushing inside him, wet and slick with oil. “You’re a fucking _tease_ , Aggie!”

“What...” he tried, but Riddick had given him as much preparation as he was going to, and was already pushing inside him. He was hot and thick and _still_ felt too big to go in there, even if Vaako was still loose from their earlier play. The question he had tried to ask got caught in his throat and made him give a odd strangled sound instead.

“Damn little tease,” Riddick repeated, shoving in as roughly as he ever got, his hands gripping Vaako’s hips almost desperately. “Tryin’ to drive me crazy like that.”

‘ _It worked, didn’t it?’_   Vaako wanted to say, but he couldn’t get the words to form. His head dropped down on his hands and he just moaned, speechless, as Riddick pounded into him.

“Think I can keep this up all evening?” Riddick leaned forward far enough to purr the words against his shoulder blade, then he was adding yet another mark to the spots scattered across Vaako’s skin.

If Riddick kept making those, Vaako decided, he was going to look like one of those huge leopards he’d once seen on a vid.

“You’ve done it before,” he managed to say, canting his hips and pushing back as Riddick’s thrusting increased in speed.

“I know,” was the smug reply, still murmured against his skin, “it’s fun.”

“Perhaps...” Vaako paused to gasp as one particular thrust nailed his prostate firmly, “but you... you said we would do this in the hot springs, not on - not on the floor.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Riddick growled, leaning back a little and running his hands up Vaako’s sides, “I got every intention of taking you in the water tonight. Guess I’ll have to finish up here sooner than I thought, though, if I’m gonna do that.” His fingers moved to pluck at his captive’s nipples.

“You’re evil,” Vaako moaned softly, his whole body thrumming at the idea of being taken yet again. And since Riddick also liked to at least rub off against him before they went to sleep, he could expect two more orgasms today after the one that was currently fighting to escape from his body.

“I know,” was the smug reply, and Riddick shifted into an even better position, judging by the power his movements suddenly gained.

It also ground the material of his shorts against Vaako’s bare thighs.

The realization that he’d pushed Riddick so far that his mate hadn’t even bothered to undress before taking him yanked Vaako’s orgasm into sudden eruption. He howled and clamped down around the cock drilling into him.

Riddick gave a matching cry behind him, thrusting wildly. Vaako could swear he felt the liquid heat of his coming, then Riddick slumped down over Vaako’s back, bearing the smaller man down to the floor.

“S’good,” he slurred, kissing the back of Vaako’s neck.

“Mmm,” Vaako agreed, shifting a little so he could breathe. “But I definitely need a bath.”

“Just going to get dirty again,” Riddick’s whisper was hot against his ear.

“And this is new?” Vaako shifted again, trying to get up this time.

“No,” Riddick agreed, finding energy somewhere in his vast reserves. He got up and pulled Vaako to his feet, slinging an arm around his waist and hauling him - naked, and himself with his shorts still gaping open - out of the shack and down to the ground. “No, not new, but definitely fun.”

“I never needed a bath after a bath until I met you,” Vaako sighed, not even trying to argue with Riddick about getting their clothes before someone saw them. He still had some modesty, but he was pretty sure by now that Riddick had never felt modest in his life. He seemed to take particular pleasure in the natives catching them nude and going at it.

“Stick with me, pretty warrior, I’m not done teaching you new things yet,” Riddick laughed, and pushed him toward the pools.

“The clouds are clearing,” Vaako noted, easing into the water of the first pool he came to. There were bigger ones further into the forest, but he was a little achy and it would be better to soothe his muscles a bit before Riddick lost his self-control - again.

“It’s about time, too,” Riddick said, nuzzling against Vaako’s damp throat, “I wanna get some chocolate, if that’s a trader waiting to land.”

“Don’t say ‘chocolate’,” Vaako sighed, tilting his head back even as he reached for the soap.  They kept a bar - wrapped in leaves so the rain wouldn’t wash it away - at every pool. Vaako had started putting them there after the third time Riddick had tossed him over his shoulder and taken him for one of his messy, soapless ‘baths’. “You’re making me hungry.”

“Good,” Riddick purred, “anticipation’s half the fun.”

Vaako sighed, and swiped the soap over his lover’s back. There was just no arguing with the man.

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

It was two more days before the clouds finally broke - before the first shafts of sunlight in months beamed down to touch Galatsadi’s golden-sand beaches. The rain didn’t stop, not entirely, but it was a light, warm rain, barely noticeable after the drearily cold tempests they had just lived through.

The natives came out in force - the first time Vaako had seen so many all at once since he came home - and immediately had the boats in the water, taking advantage of the calming winds and decreased waves to get some fresh fish.

Vaako really wished he had a boat so he could join them, but then some of the younger boys brought him part of the very first catch - enough to feed both himself and Riddick for a day or so.

Vaako thanked them solemnly, but they seemed to think that he had done them the favor; when he accepted the fish, they beamed at him like he had given them chocolate bars.

Very strange. He really hoped it was just part of the way the natives showed their welcome for an Ulahna’soqua - they always helped their Lost Children, especially when it was clear that they couldn’t help themselves. Vaako might be able to spear fish and to hunt for edible vegetation, but he obviously owned no boat. So it should come as no surprise that the happy, friendly natives would help him. Perhaps these boys were even members of his yet-unremembered family.

He tried to reassure himself with the thought, but he had a deep, nagging feeling that there was something else going on, something that he didn’t know about.

Something that had to do with those damn Reverent Names - he still had to find out what they meant, and he had no idea how to go about doing so. If his language skills kept increasing at their current rate, it would be years before he could even have a decent conversation with anyone but Riddick - forget about asking something as complicated as what he wanted to know.

“Those look good,” Riddick commented, turning away from scowling at the ocean - he really wanted to be out on a boat, and did not like the face that he couldn’t just take one away from someone else. After months of no real activity - he didn’t count pouncing on Vaako every chance he got, because he would do that if he was busy or not - he was extremely eager for something to do.

“They’ll be a nice change from dried,” Vaako agreed, his mouth starting to water at the very idea of freshly-fried fish. With the lemon-like fruit that was starting to appear on the trees, yes, and maybe some of those tiny, tender new almost-potato vegetables he’d seen the natives digging up.  Since he knew what the plants looked like now, he could get some of their own. They seemed to grow wild.

“I’ll clean ‘em, you cook ‘em,” Riddick said, taking the two good-sized fish out of his hands and heading for the porch of their hut, since the eladi, the sandy place beneath the dwelling, was still a swamp of wet sand and murky water. It would probably be another week or two before they could go back to having their fire there.

“Deal,” Vaako instantly replied. Riddick was twice as fast at cleaning their food, but Vaako was the better cook. Riddick, when he made their meals, made the food fast and usually plain, seasoned with little more than salt. He realized that the ex-con’s lifestyle would have taught him to prepare his food that way, but knowing the reason behind it didn’t make the stuff taste any better. He’d rather do the cooking any day.

Stew made of boiled fish in salted water wasn’t exactly a taste-treat.

Especially since dried fish needed slow cooking to make the texture something other than imitation leather.

Halfway to the hut, Vaako saw Riddick pause and look back up at the sky. The bigger man frowned, his eyes narrowing, before glancing back to make sure Vaako was following him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, jogging closer to his mate and staring up at the lightening cloud-cover.

“I hear a ship. I definitely hear a ship,” Riddick growled.

“Landing?” Vaako asked, his own sharp eyes struggling to find the familiar shape in the sky.

“Not yet. Must think the clouds are coverin’ a storm or something. Won’t be long, though. An hour, maybe two. Then the weather’ll probably be clear enough for ‘em.” Riddick looked like he wanted to hit someone, but he visibly controlled himself. “Let’s get these cooked,” he grumbled. “Better eat while we can.”

“All right,” Vaako nodded, glancing away from the sky to give the happy natives a worried look.  “Should I - do you think I should say something to the others?”

“Dunno,” Riddick shrugged, loping toward the hut, “might just be a trader, like you said. Sounds like a good-sized ship, though. Bigger than the trader vessel that brought me here.”

“The one that I came in was a class bigger than the ones that were here when you showed up,” Vaako commented, getting out the frying pan and starting the fire once they reached their home.

Riddick shook his head, hands and knife flying over the fish. “This one’s two classes bigger than that. Maybe three, if they got the new engines. You ever get ships that big here?”

“Not that I know of,” Vaako was frowning. “At least, I never saw any. But I came here halfway through the trading season; there may be bigger ships when the season first starts. I wouldn’t know.”

“Hmm,” was Riddick’s only reply. He seemed to turn his attention fully to the task at hand, but Vaako didn’t believe he really had. He knew his Dalenaga was focused on the ship that was approaching.

Anything that could mean danger was sure to have Riddick’s full concentration. If nothing else, he thought, because the possibility of a fight would mean that Riddick wouldn’t be bored any more.

He was beginning to hear the ship’s engines himself, anyway - so he knew Riddick wasn’t just imagining things. The distinctive hum was becoming quite clear, even over the crashing of the waves, the still-howling wind, and the laughing chatter of the natives as they...

Wait.

They weren’t laughing and chattering, not anymore. Vaako stopped what he was doing to stare out at the beach, and saw that the men were bringing in the boats while the women were herding the children toward the thick woods, where he knew they had hiding places from the slavers that occasionally landed.

A quick glance at Riddick showed him a man who seemed intent on setting the universal record for cleaning fish, apparently ignoring the rapidly-vanishing natives. He knew Riddick had seen them, though - the man never missed anything, and this wasn’t some simple detail.

This was a problem.

“Should we vanish?” Vaako wondered aloud, watching as the younger men and almost all of the older men were also sent into the forest, until only a few middle-aged men with spears and one elder were left on the beach, staring up at the sky and gripping their weapons hard.

“No,” Riddick said, slapping the fish fillets into the frying pan without giving them to Vaako for any sort of seasoning or preparation. “Eat, and then we’ll join ‘em. Rather be ready for whatever’s going on, instead of hiding and have it to sneak up and bite my ass.”

Vaako nodded absently, fully in agreement and yet distracted by the fact that the men on the beach were beginning to look toward their hut - they were too far away for him to tell anything clear about their expressions, but their body language was anticipatory - they were expecting the two men to join them on the beach.

‘ _Or perhaps, expecting Dalenaga to join them,_ ’ Vaako corrected himself, since most of the faces were turned more toward Riddick than himself.

“Uhusti Ayastigi,” he said suddenly, and Riddick’s head shot up from watching the fish frying.

“What?”

“Your name. Strong Warrior. They’re waiting for you. I think - I think that your Reverent Name means you’re some sort of protector for them. For us.”

Riddick scowled, though Vaako was pretty sure it was just for show and he didn’t really mean it.  “Dammit, why do I keep gettin’ promoted to be stuff like the leader of a bunch of dead people or the guardian of a bunch of free-love hippies? It’s gettin’ on my nerves.”

“Oh, really?” Vaako raised an eyebrow at him.

Riddick gave him a wolfish grin. “Least they could do is ask.”

“It seems to me that I remember you fighting the last Lord Marshall.”

“Just for revenge, pretty warrior, not to take his place. Hadn’t actually occurred to me that you could do that.”

“Mmm,” Vaako nodded, “I suppose it wouldn’t. Necromonger tradition and rules are not easily grasped by most people unless they’ve been Purified. It seems simple to us - ‘You Keep What You Kill.’ Some people didn’t even understand what that meant. Many, when they first heard it, thought we were necrophiliacs, or that we were not allowed to eat unless we killed and cooked an animal, not that we meant that the possessions and position of anyone we killed automatically became ours.”

“I would’ve killed him quicker if I had known it meant I got you,” Riddick leered at him, “and your harpy would have died the first time I saw you.”

Vaako scowled at him. “Is that all you ever think about? Owning me?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Riddick plucked a piece of still-sizzling fish from the pan and devoured it without a single wince at the heat. “Eat up, Aggie. Gotta get down to the beach before the kids get any more worried.”

 

 

 

*

 

 

  
Awase had been Eguyeh Gadoda of Galatsadi for the past thirty-seven years, and this was the first time he was truly frightened of having a ship land on their Beach. He’d been worried, and irritated by smug traders, and furious when one of their precious children was taken, but he’d never been terrified of seeing one of those metals hulls break through the sky.

He wished that he knew what was going to happen - what they should do to keep Galatsadi and her children safe. She could only give him impressions, though. He was no Speaker - not like their most recent Ulahna’soqua would be after he relearned their language and remembered their ways.

Which, he decided, seeing the man follow after the Uhusti Ayastigi when he finished his quick meal and headed for the beach, would have to be soon, no matter the objections that the Seer was making. It was one thing to want their precious, precious Speaker to ease into his role naturally; it was quite another for the man to not know how precious he truly was and to put himself so easily into danger.

If he died - Awase shuddered to think of it. They had not had a Speaker in decades, and the tribe was suffering from the lack every day. Galatsadi would not give them another if this one died violently like the last one had - their Sister had been furious when Agaliha had been taken, and the whole tribe had felt her delight when he had found his way back. If he was completely lost, it could be centuries before she trusted them enough to let them birth another.

By then, she would have no children left.

He wished he had the words to tell the man to hide himself in the woods, but the Speaker - Vaako, he had heard the Ayastigi call him, but Awase had a hard time thinking of him as anything but Agaliha, the little boy so happy he was called ‘Sunlight’ - knew only greetings and a few words for food and weather. He knew his Reverent Name but obviously not what it meant, barely knew the common name that his family had given him, and had no idea of his true name.

It was just a disaster waiting to happen - Awase only hoped it wasn’t going to happen today.

Dalenaga - they were not sure of his own name and so used the common name the Seer had chosen - was scanning the sky, his unique silver eyes hidden behind the strange protection that he had brought with him. It hadn’t taken the natives long to realize how sensitive the man’s sight was, and they had started leaving him alone during the brightest parts of their day, encouraging him to sleep then and wake when his senses would be most comfortable.

Not that he seemed to do much sleeping, Awase smirked to himself, glancing at Vaako - at Agaliha - from the corner of his eye. No, he seemed to prefer using all of his down time to mate until their Speaker was cross-eyed and could barely walk.

Awase couldn’t say he blamed him. Agaliha’s family was known for its pretty, pretty children and Agaliha was the prettiest they had yet produced. Most of the unmated women and well over half of the unmated men were very jealous of Dalenaga.

He was jolted from his musings as the whine of the ship’s engines grew suddenly louder. He noticed that one of his sons had given both Dalenaga and Agaliha spears that the fisher-folk had left behind. He hated seeing a weapon in their Speaker’s hands, but he knew it was necessary.

It also wasn’t the first time he’d held one. Agaliha took the spear too easily and stood with too much confidence for it to be a new idea, this using what should only be a food-gathering item as protection. He knew that the little boy he used to hold on his lap as he taught him about Galatsadi and what she meant had been taken by a trader who would have sold him for his athletic abilities - he hoped, with a sick feeling in his stomach that he’d long grown used to, that  
the sweet child he remembered had not also been sold for his prettiness - but he had obviously been trained to fight and to defend.

And those strange, round scars on his neck - those meant something bad. They had been shown those scars by some of the friendly traders, shown in both pictures and words, and they knew that it meant danger. Not from an Ulahna’soqua, they didn’t expect that, but if anyone else had ever shown up with those marks, they’d been told to either kill them, or to hide everyone and pretend there were only five or six people on the planet.

Even that, they had been warned, might not save them - and it meant the certain death of the five or six people who would be seen.

He had a feeling, given to him by his connection to Galatsadi, that this ship meant that the trouble had finally come to them. He’d been happily sorting the first fresh catch in months among his people when the instinctual link he had with his homeworld had stirred inside him, warning him that there was danger coming.

The only place danger ever came from was the skies.

Weather and starships - the two most dreaded dangers Galatsadi ever faced.

 

 

  
*

 

 

  
Riddick hefted the light spear he had been given, testing its balance and strength. Not a bad weapon, he decided, but it was going to be almost worthless against the guns that would be on board that ship.

Good thing he had a few backup weapons on him. He’d given one to Vaako, too, to go along with the pretty knife his pretty warrior always carried. Vaako had only lifted an eyebrow at him before he’d taken it.

Nice to know his mate was so strong, so well prepared. Riddick was going to defend him with his life, but at least he wasn’t defending some helpless, fainting little boy. His mate was strong and well-trained and capable of taking care of himself.

Within reason, of course. Not enough for Riddick to stand back and let him handle any of this on his own. Besides, if he was on a planet that was calling him its Warrior, he didn’t need to be hiding under a bed.

Too bad he couldn’t make these other guys go hide under their beds. They knew how to handle those spears, true enough, but only for killing fish. He didn’t think they knew a lot about killing people.

Good thing he was an expert at that.

Or course, this whole thing could just be a panic attack over a bigger ship than usual - that could just be some rich idiot up there who was looking for a nice planet to build a vacation home on.  Or it could be a smart trader who realized that if he brought a bunch of _really nice chocolate_ down to this planet the instant the weather cleared, he could have anything he wanted, short of people. There were pearls on this little island, gathered by divers, that were as big as Riddick’s  
closed fist. A case of chocolate bars would probably get one, and then the lucky trader could swap the pearl for, oh, a city of his own. Maybe even a country.

He had a feeling, however, that whatever was about to land was a little more dangerous than either of those two options. There was something _wrong_ about the whine of those engines - an oddly familiar sort of wrong. He was pretty sure he knew what was about to come through the clouds.

He was dead positive that he wasn’t going to like it.

A flash of metal sliced its way through the sky, the first edge of the ship that had been hiding was now coming into view.

Behind him, he heard Vaako swear.

Riddick grinned at the profanity, even though he was completely pissed off about what he was seeing.

Because what he was seeing was a king-sized version of one of those little Jumpers that had landed on Crematoria all those long months ago, when Vaako and some other Necromongers had arrived to kill him and had taken Kyra away when they left.

“Didn’t know they came in that size,” he muttered, and grinned again when Vaako scoffed at his ignorance and almost audibly rolled his eyes. He grinned, but he was furious.

Because even if he had left - even if he was pretty sure he wasn’t planning on going back - he was still the Lord Marshall of the Necromongers. He hadn’t given any commands for someone to follow him here and he knew Aereon damn well hadn’t, either. She would be too busy studying how the damn bastards ticked.

That meant someone had decided to follow him for their own little agenda.

Whoever that someone was - they were in a whole lot of trouble.

 

 

 

 

Language Notes:

As always, Galatsadi’s language is my poor attempt at the Native American language of Cherokee. Pronunciation is the best I can do, and not fully correct.  It's been years since I've heard someone speak it.

Uhusti Ayastigi - pronounced ‘Uh huss tee Ah yah stee Gah’, Riddick’s Reverent Name means ‘Strong Warrior’.

Eguyeh Gadoda - pronounced ‘Eh Guh Yeh Gah Doe Dah’, means ‘First Father’, roughly. This is the title of the chief male Elder of Galatsadi.

Awase - pronounced ‘Ah Ways’ means ‘Planting Month’. He is named for the start of the planting season, which would be a very strong name, especially on a planet where specifically grown plants were rare and therefore precious.

Ulahna’soqua - pronounced ‘Oo Lah Nah So Qwah’ means ‘Lost One’. See Chapter 3 of Galatsadi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've finally posted all that I have written of this story. Time to brush the dust off the keyboard, I guess :D


End file.
